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About 90 Percent of Chinese Cities Suffer From Underground Water Pollution

Posted on: Thursday, 29 December 2005, 09:00 CST

About 90 percent of Chinese cities suffer from underground water pollution

BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- About 90 percent of Chinese cities are suffering from underground water pollution, a recent survey to the underground water across the country has showed.

Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), was quoted by China News Service on Tuesday as saying that the pollution of underground water in China is serious.

The news service said the pollution in north China is more serious than that of the southern regions, and the pollution causes direct economic looses of tens of billion yuan, or billions of U.S. dollars, every year, not to mention "countless" indirect losses.

In the next 25 years, China's water situation will face enormous pressure under a new round of economic growth. It will be a key period whether China can limit the deterioration of water quality, Zhang was quoted as saying.

Underground water is the source of drinking water for nearly 70 percent of China's population and is the source of some 40 percent of the country's agricultural irrigation, the report said.

The news service reported that SEPA launched projects in 2004 to prevent the pollution of underground water and protect drinking water.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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